Liberty. To many, the word is the name of a sports team, an insurance company or a college. More importantly, liberty is an essential inalienable right mentioned, along with “life” and “the pursuit of Happiness,” in the Declaration of Independence.
What does “Liberty” mean to you? Dictionary definitions suggest things like, “the power to act as one pleases” or “the state of not being imprisoned.”
As a youth, I recognized the number of liberties people sacrifice in the name of perceived safety or for convenience. In order to feel more secure or make life a little easier, people I knew from both sides of the political aisle happily traded their (and mine, and your) freedoms. They’ve allowed government to take more power away from its citizens in order to centralize power and gain more control over them.
Losing these liberties at the hands of politicians who are steeped in corruption leads me to question what Liberty meant to me. And that’s how I found and joined the Libertarian Party.
For me, Liberty means being free from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority that impact how I am able live my life. While lawlessness has never been a worldview I’ve espoused, I’ve always maintained that government in all its forms is established to control the governed.
Our inalienable rights, as mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, were fought for by freedom fighters during the American Revolution and continue to be defended by patriots who love those rights. They weren’t buzzwords or platitudes, but foundational principles life was based on. They were given by God to His children, are revocable by none, and unlike the President has recently said, they are absolute.
I love Liberty. I count myself blessed to be born in a country where that Liberty is recognized and respected.
- Sound of Freedom – The Work of a Modern Harriet Beecher Stowe - July 5, 2023
- Liberty is an Essential Inalienable Right - July 7, 2022
- Grow a Row For Bethel this Summer - June 3, 2022